MIX09: Way of the Whiteboard

Dan Roam’s Way of the Whiteboard presentation at Microsoft’s MIX09 conference discussed the structure behind solving problems with pictures.

Any problem we have the ability to articulate, we have the ability to clarify, if not solve, with pictures

We are fundamentally visual creatures. We all know how to draw when we are kids. It’s an innate ability.

Visual thinking’s unwritten rules: 1) whoever best describes the problem is the person most likely to solve the problem 2) we can’t solve a problem that overwhelms us 3) the more “human” your picture, the more human will be your response

Visual problem-solving spectrum: 25% black pen (hand me the pen), 50% yellow pen (I can’t draw but…), 25% red pen (I’m not visual). Yellow pen people are good at looking at other drawings and keeping the dialog going. Red pen people usually have most of the facts and issues behind the problem but think the process of drawing simplifies things too much.